Boat.



' F. D. DOTY.

BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.23, 1915.

1,203,506. Patented 0ct. 31,191 6.

".50 square stern 3, and a substantially fiat bot- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED D. DOTY, F OCEAN CITY, NEW JERSEY.

BOAT.

-Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 23, 1915. Serial No. 46,878.

To all whom it may concern:

means are mounted at the forward partqof the boat.

While my improved propelling means may be adapted for use with various types of boats, such as canal boats, freight boats,

passenger boats and the like, I have shown the same in connection with a shallow, light draft passenger boat designed more particularly for use in canals, inland water-ways,

tidal estuaries and the like where the presence of bars, lowwater, or other obstruc- .tions to navigation would interfere with the employment of boats having a greater draft.

A further object of my invention is to provide a boat having propelling means mounted at the forward end and a substantially flat bottom provided with bottom channels whereby any waves produced by the paddle wheels will be carried rearward under the boat and thereby, avoid all danger of destroying the banks of the stream, canal, or other waterway in which such boat is operated.

These and other features, of my invention are more fully described hereinafter, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure.1, is a side elevation, partly in section, of a light draft boat made in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, is a plan view of'the same; Fig. 3, is a cross trating the driving mechanism on a larger scale, and Fig. 4, 1s a rear elevation of the The hull 1 of my improved boat is ofthe Garvey type, having a rounded bow 2,

tom 4: extending from end to end of the same; Such hull ,is provided with a suitable deck 5, pilot house 6, cabins 7, and other fixtures suitable or common t boats this character, whih feature. are indisectional view on the line 3-3, Fig. 1, illuscated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings.

The central portion of the bottom rises gradually toward the stern from the point m, with a pair of heels or keelsons 8 extend ing in the plane of the bottom as far as the rudder; posts 9, of the rudders 10, and at the front the bottom gradually rises to meet the rounded'bow. For the purpose of propelling this boat, I provide a plurality of paddle wheels 11 at the forward part of the boat, and these paddle wheels may be Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

mounted directly beneath the pilot housefbeing disposed within a well vor chamber 12, entirely closed at the top and sides but open at the bottom; such well or chamber communicating with an inlet passageway 13 at the forward end of the boat above the water-line: From the well or chamber 12 a passageway 14: is extended rearwardly, gradually decreasing in height and merging with the bottom of the boat, in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 1; the keels' or keelsons 8 forming the sides of such channel. By this constrii'ction only limited portions of the boat forward of the paddle wheels are below the water-line, atad those portions are at the sides of the boat.

My improved paddle wheels 11 are mounted on shafts 15 inclined at an angle with respect to the horizontal, \as clearly shown in Fig. 3, such wheels having suitable bearings 16 carried by side portions-ofjhe hull,- and thrust bearings -17 carried by a suitable supporting structure 18 disposed in the well or chamber 12 in line with the longitudinal axis of the hull. In the present instance said propeller wheels are driven by a shaft 19 centrally mounted with respect to the longitudinal axis of the boat and having.

a worm 20 driving worm wheels 21 mounted on the inner ends of the propeller; shafts.

Any suitable prime mover may be employedfor driving the worm shaft, and it will be understood, of course. that suitable clutches and reversing gear will be supplied so that the boat may be driven forward or backward as desired. In lieu of the worm and worm shaft, I may drive the propeller shaft by any usual form of power transmitting can drag. The-water 1'1 which are set so as to enter and leave the water at an angle with respect tothe horizontal; one corner of the blades first entering the water and the blades being in full engagement with the water when at the center, of their stroke, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. In this inclined arrangement of the propellers there is less drag since the paddles or blades are not required to lift as great an amount of water as is required by the use of propeller wheels as ordinarily arranged.

I preferably provide two rudders 10 connected by suitable means so as'to move in unison, with suitable tiller mechanism connected with operating means within the pilot house and an independent tiller 22 for direct operation at the stern.

As the under portion of the hull at the bow of the boat is substantially above the level of the water-line, there is no portion of the boat upon which the indrawn water usually leaves the propellers within the well or chamber 12 in a turbulent or churned condition, filled with bubbles of air, over which the boat immediately passes; such bubbles being confined by the assageway 14. The bottom of the boat is urther provided with the pair of keels or keelsons 8, so as to provide a; continuation of the channel 14 for the rearwardpassage of the water. By this arrangement, the air-containing and broken water is retained under the boat for its full length and discharges from the stern onl and increased buoyancy of the boat is the result.

The water beneath is drawn under channel or-inle of the forward the bow. of the boat the bottom through the passageway 13 by reason mounting of the paddle wheels instead of being forced outward from the boat, as it would be if the propellers were otherwise mounted. As the boat is built with its broadest beam about onethird aft from the bow in order to support the additional weight, the Water is caused to fall in toward the quieted down by the escaping air from under the stern, thus preventing. any sidewash on the banks of a small stream or canal.

By preference, the exhaust from an explosion engine, when used, may be let out through pipes running into the well 12 or channel 14 along the inside of either keel or keelson 8, which pipes open toward the stern. I am thus able to utilize any power present in the thrust of the exhaust to aid in the propulsion besides supplying additional air or gases under the boat to quiet the water stirred up by the propellers and silencing any noise from the engine.

I claim:

1. The combination, in a boat, of a hull having a hollow space disposed forward of eac wheel which enter and .water at an angle to the stern and will be .dle wheels mounted 1n the center of the boat and o n to the water with inlet and outlet channefl for water fore and aft of said hollow space; the upper wall of the forward channel being substantially above the surface of the water while the upper wall of the after channel slopes downwardly below the surface of the water and of paddle wheels mounted in said hollow space, and a plurality ofkeels carried by said hull and orming a channel rearwardly from said paddle wheel space.

2. The combination, in a boat, of a hull having a hollow space disposed forward of the center of the boat and open to the water with inlet and outlet channels for water fore and aft of said hollowspace; the upper wall of the forward channel being substantially above the surface of the water while the upper wall of the after channel slopes downwardly below the surface of the water and forms the bottom of the boat, a lurality of paddle wheels mounted in said 01- low space, each of said paddle wheels being mounted on an axis set at an angle witi respect to the horizontal, paddles carried-by leavethe water at an an le, and a lurality of keels carried by said all and' orming a channel rearwardl from said paddle wheel space.

3. The combination, in a boat, of a hull having a hollow space forward of the center of the boat and extending above the deck; said space being open to the water with inlet andoutlet channels for water fore and aft of said hollow space; the upper wall of the forward channel being substantially above the surface of the water, a lurality of paddle wheels morintedin said hollow space, each of said paddle wheels bein mounted on an axis set at an angle wit respect to the horizontal, paddles carried by each wheel which enter and leave the horizontal, said hull having its bottom aft of the propellers gradually deepened and then rising to a point above the surface of the water, with a plurality of keels carried by said hull and providing a channel leading rearwardly from the paddle wheel space.

4'. The combination, in a boat, of a hull having a hollow space open to the water at the forward part of the same, the central portion'of the bottom of the hull at the bow being substantially above the surface of the water and providing a channel leading to said hollow-space, a plurality of padsaid s ace and disposed for engagement with t e surface of the water, each of said paddle wheels bein mounted on an axis set at an angle wit and having paddles which enter and leave thewater at an angle to the horizontal, ring for worm driving said paddle wheels, sai hull.hav-

forms the bottom of the boat, a pluralitying its bottom aft of the propellers gradually deepened and then rising to a point above the surface of the water at its stern, with heels carried by said hull and providing channels; the bottom of said hull adjacent the central channel and for the greater part of its length being fiat.

5. The combination, in a boat, of a hull having a hollow space forward of the center of the boatand open to the water with inlet and outlet channels for water fore and aft of said hollow space; the upper wall of the forward channel being substantially above .the surface of the water while the upper wall of the after channel slopes downwardly below the surface of the water and forms the bottom of the boat, a plurality of paddle wheels mounted in said hollow space, each of said paddle wheels being mounted on an axis set at an angle to the horizontal, and

means for driving said paddle wheels.

6. The combination, in a boat, of a hull having a hollow space forward of the center forms the bottom of the boat, a plurality,

of paddle wheels mounted in said hollow space, each of said paddle wheels being mounted on an axis set at an angle with respect to the horizontal, paddles-carried by said wheels which enter and leave the water at an angle; driving means paralleling the longitudinal axis of the hull, and worm gearing actuated by said driving means and operatively connected to the paddle wheels for driving the latter.

FRED D. DUTY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D C. 

